A Nameless Fear
by DirectionOfTime
Summary: The war reached its conclusion but it seemed as if it had been nothing but a prologue for the terrors to come; a Rokudaime no one expected, a militant Konoha and Naruto unable to connect to Kurama. Their team had gained a missing member, but in the process, lost another. Kakashi's ability to survive was as much a curse as it was a blessing. (Post 699 fic (ignoring 700)). KakaSaku.
1. Prologue

_Ok! So a new fic! I've been in a bit of a funk recently (some bad times T.T) but hopefully this fic will give me something to occupy me for a while! I hope you all like it - I've been intending it to be something warm and fuzzy but alas, my own grump has bled into my writing! :O _

_Spoilers (lol) up to 699 (700 doesn't exist for me!) So this story will pick up assuming 699 was the last chapter - I also haven't been able to read any of the Hiden series, so I'm writing on the basis they don't exist in this universe (for those who've read/love them, sorry guys!)_

_Here's just a little diddy prologue for you ^.~_

* * *

**A Nameless Fear**

_Prologue_

* * *

Kakashi stood at the memorial stone, his eyes lingering on the well worn names he regularly glanced at whilst trying to ignore the later additions. The sun was bright but his mood was irreparably low, as he knew it would be; it was exactly a year to the day, the first very unhappy anniversary of a date he half wished he never lived to see. It had been almost one in the morning when Kakashi had been jerked awake by the sound of an explosion that had his apartment walls shake, he'd leapt out of bed, grabbed a fist full of kunai and leapt onto his roof, to find the administration building little more than a burning pile of ruins, the morbid remains of what had once been one of the oldest buildings in Konoha.

The shouts of the other shinobi had broken him from his momentary revere of shock as he darted over to try and assess and contain what he could of the situation, numerous ANBU were crowding around a specific circle, a mess of kunai, kibakufuda and jutsus: all of which were being countered or replied with unnerving ease by the apparent enemy. Kakashi had leapt to the forefront, despite being only in his sleeveless vest with mask and trousers, he appeared beside Inoichi though as his eyes focussed on the enemy his breath caught in his throat.

Sasuke.

He'd seized control of Konoha that night, his first hit had destroyed the administration building and everyone in it; ANBU and the Jounins had fought him for hours with little success. Sasuke had merely stood there defending himself though without any real intent to kill any of the other shinobi. There were regular curses at the fact Naruto was away on a long term mission at that point, which in retrospect, was probably why Sasuke had chosen that time to strike. Eventually, Kakashi had drained himself, his injuries almost life-threatening, though had forced himself to keep conscious as the collective strength of the village began to wane, eventually Sasuke held up his hands and spoke loudly and clearly:

"The village is now mine, I have killed the current Hokage and I claim his place, accept your new Hokage and there will be no more deaths," The silence that followed was utterly deafening. Kakashi shared a glance with the nearest shinobi next to him, _was he serious?_ The leaf nin weren't sure at all what to do - they were at the end of their limits and the strange behaviour of Sasuke's counter attacks had them fairly certain he wasn't about to unleash a death-jutsu on them and his apparent claim on becoming the sixth Hokage meant he must actually want the village survive so he'd have something to run… But what the _hell_?

The hours, weeks and months that followed had been beyond confusing; the Jounins and ANBU had regular clandestine meetings to organise how they felt and what they were supposed to do. Almost every single shinobi had agreed Kakashi was still the Rokudaime but even their combined strength hadn't been enough to defeat Sasuke with his completed Susanoo and rinnegan capabilities, not to mention the fact Kakashi having lost his sharingan meant they were at a severe disadvantage. The only thing Kakashi had been able to suggest at that time was to hold their tempers and wait for a suitable time to strike back, throwing their lives away would only have make the situation worse; frustrated and angry as they were, they agreed with him. Still a few had tried to tackle Sasuke here and there, but his strengths and the added protection of those who'd supported him meant he was almost beyond their reach.

Sasuke had very quickly put a lot of blockades on the free movement of shinobi in and out of Konoha, their movements were well tracked and the records of shinobi out on missions being information - Naruto's whereabouts, far to the west, were obscure and he was deeply entrenched in a very sensitive mission, so risking contacting him was folly at best. Unfortunately for the Leaf nin, the remains of ROOT had eagerly sided with Sasuke and had intercepted Naruto on his return home, less than a month after Sasuke's coup, as he apparently unaware of the situation, had gone with them and they'd sealed his access to the majority of the Kyuubi's power before he could protest.

Naruto had been as outraged — and then depressed — as almost everyone else had been as he discovered what had happened, those who'd died and his own powerlessness. The months and the missions passed slowly as the village adjusted uncomfortably to changes: Sasuke had set up his own administration in the old Uchiha quarter, taken himself several "wives" with which to re-spawn the Uchiha clan and had taken an aggressive, preemptive stance with regard to missions: where previously Konoha had worked to maintain the balance of power and often leant a hand to needy civilians, they were now often forced on missions to begin fights and upset the balance between the other nations, factions or even vaguely militant groups.

Konoha had lost so much more than it's reputation as honest and trustworthy nation: a large proportion of the civilian population had moved away from under the oppressive rule of Sasuke and even the closest allies of Leaf, Sunagakure, had been forced to withdraw its alliance after some of Konoha's more unnerving actions against other nations.

Kakashi, during that first month had been operating in grey mode, as if in some twisted nightmare he did as ordered and followed his normal routine not daring to think too much about that night. It had been sheer dumb luck that he hadn't been in the administration building that night — he'd been serving as Hokage for the past five years and spent a majority of his time there, the elders Koharu and Homoru, who were (still) poking their noses in, under the direction of daimyo, had send him home early for his trite attitude having worked the previous three days almost straight. It hadn't taken long for Naruto to seek him out and demand all the answers as if Kakashi himself was the deity of the Fire Nation.

"What happened?" He'd asked his eyes wide and his face aghast, his numerous follow up questions had tumbled from his mouth in such quick succession Kakashi was barely able to discern one before the next one cut it off, at least, until the last question he'd asked, which had almost been enough to make Kakashi blanche, "And where's Sakura-chan?"

Kakashi issued a long breath as he was brought back to himself, the bright sunshine in his two eyes as he lifted his gazed up to the azure, cloudless sky; he was two hours late for his mission briefing with the '_Hokage'_ not to mention that Sasuke'd already stolen damn near everything from him: if Sasuke wanted him to start playing the game, he'd have to give him his village back — and everyone in it — first.

"Hatake-san, the Hokage requests to know why you are late to his briefing," A ROOT ANBU appeared by his side, his tone clipped with impatience,

"I was just visiting some old friends," He answered blandly, his eyes falling back to the stone, slipping dangerously low,

"You are to come with me immediately,"

"Hai, hai," Kakashi sighed as his eyes fell ever further before he could stop them, the final name engraved deeply on that permanent stone, the bane of his life:

_Haruno Sakura._

* * *

_...Thoughts?_


	2. Chapter 1

_Next chap, yosh! _

* * *

**A Nameless Fear **

_Chapter 1: Cold Fire_

* * *

His breath felt heavier as soon as he was beyond the gates, knowing where he was going and what innocent civilians were going to pay for Sasuke's unending arrogance. He shared a final glance behind him, his team mates, all bar one, appeared to share his sombre attitude; although team leader, Sasuke had apparently felt the need to keep an eye on Kakashi for he'd been assigned a ROOT member for his fourth. Lee, Kurenai and the ROOT; she'd offered an alias, Oshi, but to give her a name was to make her human. A human who'd sided with Sasuke — what human could justify his behaviour? His actions?

Kakashi, had his mask not been in the way, would have spat for the twisted voice inside him that whispered he _himself_ had once been one of those humans who'd sided with Sasuke.

They ran for a long time without rest or a drop in pace; their destination was Demon Country, _Oni no Kuni_, far to the East, across a vast sea. Kakashi had barely let them rest until they reached as far as the land would take them. A forced hiatus as they waited for the ferry had Kakashi enough time to look back at the mission scroll: infiltrate the shrine and steal the scroll detailing the sealing technique to seal Mouryou, kill anyone and everyone who resisted. Easy. Except Oni no Kuni were supposed to be allies and the stealing of this scroll would not only deeply upset the balance of the shine and the country as a whole, but would surely sever the ties between this delicate, spiritual country and Konoha.

"Kakashi-sama?" Lee's voice appeared gently and respectfully from behind his shoulder, "I do not feel I understand this mission,"

"Oh?" Kakashi asked, Lee's words were a surprise, he turned towards his young subordinate, "What do you mean?"

"Demon Country has been our ally for a long time, their sealing techniques are indeed unique but what purpose is there in Konoha obtaining these? Especially through such violent methods?" Lee's voice was gentle, as was generally his manner, but the look in his eyes told Kakashi all he needed to know,

"I agree with you Lee, this mission is wrong for a variety of reasons, but we have been given orders by the Hokage and to be good shinobi we must follow them," The words felt bitter on his tongue even as Lee's eyes hardened,

"I only recognise you as Hokage, Kakashi-sama and I do not believe you would have ever ordered us on a mission such as this… I… I just…"

"I know Lee, but right now we can't show any weakness or Sasuke will cause us more problems," Kakashi lowered his timbre, a weight settling in his chest for the honestly and kindness in Lee which so completely mirrored that of his late sensei, Kakashi's own dear friend.

"I understand Kakashi-sama,"

"Hang in there, Lee," He dropped a hand to his shoulder, "I won't let Sasuke get away with this and when that happens, I'll need your strength to help me," Kakashi offered, aware that his surrounding weren't nearly as secure as he would have liked for such a conversation, though Lee had clearly enough sense to approach him at a quiet and secluded time. Lee stared up at the elder jounin for a few seconds before his right arm leapt up to his eyebrow in a salute as his body snapped straight in a salute,

"Ossu!"

"Good, now let's just get this mission done, with the least casualties and the least distress possible," Kakashi pitched his voice a touch higher along with a brightened Lee,

"Absolutely! I will not fail you, Kakashi… taichou," He too, had sensed the additional presence and responded accordingly,

"Good, now get some rest, Lee, we'll be leaving before dawn tomorrow," Kakashi offered his last statement really for their observer's sake, but Lee played along and left swiftly. Kakashi let out a thick breath as he felt the extra set of eyes leave along with Lee, the quicker this farce of a mission was done and over with the better… the better for Kakashi to return to Konoha and what? Wait in solitude for his next mission to violate another supposed ally to steal their secrets? Kakashi had already let things go on for far too long. Something needed to be done and soon — he'd almost rather see Konoha completely obliterated than continue operating in such a manner.

...

They finally set foot on the shoreline to Oni no Kuni, there was perhaps only ten or so feet of sand before high, dense trees grew; Kakashi darted first, he was well within the tree line before he singled the others to join him,

"Okay," He crouched and withdrew a map, "The shrine and presumed location of the scroll is here, about half a mile south of the village, we'll need to stay as low as possible, ideally they should not know that Konoha shinobi are responsible for this. I have been on a mission here in the past and I am certain they will remember me. I want _no one _to spot us, am I understood?" He received shot nods from all three, "We'll move on and close in on the shrine, where we'll observe the movements for a day or so and plan the infiltration around what we find. There's not much of a shinobi presence here, but there are many soldiers who are skilled with sword fighting; the priestess will be trickiest to deal with since she lives in the shrine, but we'll plan how to handle that later. Let's move out, close formation, we'll be moving at top speed." Kakashi rose back up to his full height from his crouch before he'd even finished his sentence.

Checking his pouches were still closed after he stuffed his map away, he turned on his heel and darted up into the trees, closely followed by his team; within two hours they'd reached where they needed to be, stole up the side of the rock face into which the shrine had been set and created themselves a hideout. They took turns to stand watch through the remainder of the night and next day, the comings and goings of the priests as well as the guard times of the soldiers had been predicable and nothing unexpected happened. At sundown on the second night, Kakashi gave his orders - they were to move at midnight, the ANBU would remain in their hideout and watch for any comings and goings whilst Kurenai and Lee would accompany him, she was to provide first line defence with her genjutsu allowing them any and all possibility of escaping undetected whilst Lee was there as a last-effort defence.

The ANBU wasn't happy, but she followed her orders.

Before they were set to move, Kakashi summoned Pakkun, the little dog, now as grouchy as his master, waited patiently as Kakashi directed him, before the four descended with all the silence and grace that made ninja legendary. They were down to ground level without so much as a spec of dust disturbed; Pakkun lifted his nose to the wind and confirmed that the majority of the soldiers were out in front of the shrine with only about three or four stood up on the high dais at the entrance. Gathering their chakra, they scaled the wall, with Lee climbing expertly using the small handholds; Kakashi set Pakkun down just on the top of the ledge, his small form enough to scamper away out of sight before the guard looked around. He gave a small whine to signal Kakashi as he too hoisted himself up and was behind the small corner of rock, just out of sight; Kurenai was next and as soon as she was over the threshold cast a swift genjutsu upon the guards, allowing them to dash from their cover into the temple.

Knowing the terrain made their pacing far faster, Kakashi knew from memory exactly where the sealing cavern was and the lay out of the buildings - including the most useful hiding spots. Pakkun kept pace, his nose lifting to the air with almost every breath, unusual enough for the on-edge Kakashi to notice and query him,

"What is it?"

"There's… a familiar scent, it's… it's like…" The little dog couldn't seem to find the words and Kakashi issued a short, sharp breath as a means of cutting him off, now was no time for Pakkun to get distracted by some flight of fancy,

"Just concentrate on telling me if anyone's nearby," The going was almost a little too smooth for the fact the sporadic guard place within the temple were either facing away from the main entrance or were focusing on some other small task which allowed the infiltrators to escape their notice. The temple was built around a central, enormous column of rock which essentially provided two differing paths to the same location.

Kakashi was beginning to get suspicious at their seemingly good fortune when they came to the last doorway, it was tucked away, Kurenai and Lee stayed behind whilst Kakashi entered the room some quiet voice in him told him to do the deed alone; he guessed Shion may well be inside the room, but it was traditionally kept dark, giving him an edge. He turned the knob with excruciating slowness before he teetered over the threshold. The diminutive central rock, still illuminated by the pale, though ceaseless light shone down upon the sealed form of Mouryou; only the slightest number of photons escaped enough to cast the smallest shadows around the edges of the narrow, raise path that led from the door to the pillared shrine.

"Kash-Kakashi!" Pakkun suddenly yipped in a gruff whisper, "I smell—"

"Shh!" Kakashi cut across,

"But it's S—" Pakkun tried desperately again, though Kakashi issued a deep growl of his own to silence the dog, he stole across the narrow pathway his guilt at the betrayal he was on the cusp of committing weighing heavily on his tired shoulders, but as he drew near to the centre, he suddenly became aware of another presence. She stepped out from behind one of the pillars, her long white gown almost glowing under the light,

"Kakashi-san, it has been a long time since I last saw you," Her voice seemed to float over to him, her gentle lilt deceptively calming,

"Sh-Shion-sama?"

"You needn't fear, I have been expecting you,"

"Uh…"

"Although I would have preferred if you'd approached us in a more courteous manner, I appreciate your circumstances, is the rest of your team outside this room?"

"Yes, but… ah, Shion-sama," Kakashi was beyond confused — why wasn't she calling upon her legions of guards to come to her aid for his breaking and entering?

"Please come with me, Kakashi-san, I have a surprise for you," She offered a sly smile before turning and walking away from him, beginning to descend the steps which led down to the lower level, he quickened his pace to catch up to her,

"Shion-sama, I really don't understand,"

"Patience, Kakashi-san," Was her only reply, as he followed her down the winding, roughly hewn staircase, eventually they were weaving between the terracotta statues until Kakashi thought he could almost sense another person, his brain felt almost fogged as he tried to decipher to who it was. Pakkun yipped slightly, normally an expression of joy in him, though Kakashi ignored the summon as he approached closer to the small pin-prick of light, it was well hidden and Kakashi approached with great caution, he found himself on tenterhooks for a reason he couldn't seem to fathom.

It seemed to take forever until he'd rounded the final stone soldier, a small candle light, a feminine figure and a flash of pink had Kakashi freeze, he found he could barely find the words to give a voice to his tumultuous thoughts, "S…Sakura?" He choked,

"Hai,"

"H—how? I don't…" He began, he knees suddenly feeling very weak, Sakura closed the distance between them, her hands simultaneously grabbing the hem of his mask and the back of his head; before he could so much as draw a breath her lips were on his, it took a moment, but he responded. His arms snapped around her back and locked her to him, his lips greedy for anything and everything she could give him; the weight of the previous year flooded back to him as his eyes almost stung, still he clung on to her, kissing her until he thought he would die of asphyxiation. Eventually he pulled back, just far enough to separate their tongues, every other inch of themselves touching,

"How? I thought you'd died…"

"I know and I'm so sorry Kakashi, I've missed you so much but I couldn't find a way to get a message to you without revealing myself as alive to anyone else,"

"_Kami-sama_," He whispered, desperate to convince himself he hadn't gone insane, was she really back here, in his arms?

"For all this time I've been dying to return to Konoha just so I could see you, _touch you _again, but I couldn't risk it: I was lucky enough to survive the attack, I felt I just couldn't come back unless I had a plan — and a means to implement it — I can't forgive Sasuke for what he's done and I can't rest until it's been put right… but god, Kakashi, I've missed you so, _so_ much," She gasped, "I'm sorry, I'm so goddamn sorry for not letting you know what was happening, that I was alive."

* * *

_I'm kinda liking this short and sharp chapter style, but does it work well enough for you guys? Do you think it reads smoothly enough?_

_Also, I haven't seen the episodes/film where they go to Demon Country so I apologise for any inaccuracies!_


	3. Chapter 2

—

* * *

**A Nameless Fear**

_Chapter 2: Secrets _

* * *

Kakashi hadn't been able to let go of Sakura, even as she began to explain what had happened that night, almost a year to the day previously;

"Shizune had saved me, we were both knocked flat, but had survived enough to heal my more serious wounds, she told me to escape, her dying wish was for me to avenge whoever had done this. I just ran, at first, I'd believed the whole of Konoha had been overrun and I knew I'd need to get somewhere quiet and safe enough for me to heal myself before I could have the slightest hope in helping anyone else; I waited for days for any other escaping shinobi, but none came. I watched and I waited for days upon days, but nothing happened; eventually I found my way to Tanzaku Gai and listened for news, before long I'd heard of Sasuke's attack and what he'd done…

"I was in shock for a long time, trying to hide, I wasn't sure if you were even alive — last I knew you were still in the tower, but… I can't forgive Sasuke for what he's done, I don't know how many have died because of his actions, but I can't return to Konoha until he is dead," Her words were venom, though Kakashi could easily hear her undertone of great sadness, he squeezed her tighter to him for a moment, unable to get over the fact the love of his life was alive and safely within his arms.

"I'm sorry for what I must have put you through," She leant down to kiss him again, which he eagerly accepted whilst his brain finally began to catch up to the situation, he pulled back, returned his mask and turned to Shion,

"You said you were expecting me? How did you know I'd come here?"

"Well, we weren't certain, but Sakura-san has been finding out a lot of what Konoha has been doing over the past year, we both agreed it wouldn't take too long for at least some of your shinobi to be sent here to try and steal our unique techniques, though of course for you to be personally assigned to this mission was just good fortune," The priestess replied in an even tone,

"You're not kidding," Kakashi replied his eyes falling back onto Sakura, Pakkun had wandered over and nuzzled at her hand, he too, pleased to find her alive;

"Kakashi, I really wish we could have the time to talk fully, so I could explain my plans and hear everything about Konoha from you, but we can't take too long,"

"No, I have a ROOT ANBU on my team, Sasuke won't let anyone out of the village without some of his own allies watching, she's outside the temple, but, I don't care how long it takes. I'd almost rather not return to Konoha at all,"

"You must! If we're going to defeat Sasuke we'll need someone on the inside of the village to attack on two fronts," Sakura rebutted as Kakashi tightened his grip slightly,

"I've just got you back… how can I—"

"I know, but you can't just leave Konoha now, Sasuke would hunt you down and then we'd never get the chance to defeat him, besides the village loved you as the Rokudaime, if you rally them, they will follow you. You know this Kakashi, where's that level head of yours that I love so much?"

"It got all bent out of shape when Sasuke attacked and I'd thought he'd killed you," He whispered,

"I'm alive, Kakashi and with your help, Sasuke will be the one whose lost everything."

"Kakashi-san, I will give you the scroll to take back to Konoha and I will report it as having been stolen by unknown shinobi," Shion's lilting voice reached him again and drew him back to the present,

"Hai," He sighed, knowing it was time for him to leave, though he clung on to the fleeting second where he was almost prepared to stay forever in the dank temple cavern,

"If I write down what I need to tell you and affix it to Pakkun's haitai-ate, will it reappear with him when you next summon him?" She asked quickly,

"Hai, I'll make sure it reaches him." The little dog cut across, still stood by Sakura's ankles,

"Good, then may I keep him for a little bit?"

"Of course," Kakashi eagerly agreed, as he pulled away from Sakura and turned to take the scroll off Shion,

"You will need to be leaving now Kakashi-san, any further delay may bring your teammates to come looking for you and the lack of a retaliation on our part will be telling. I hope that you and Sakura will find a way to restore Konoha to it's former glory, I and many others know that this has been Sasuke's doing and that the current situation has your hands tied, once he is gone, I am certain many of your former allies would be pleased to reform ties with you,"

"…Thank you, Shion-sama," Over the past year Kakashi had felt very alone and very responsible for Konoha, he was powerless to directly counter Sasuke — or stop any of his more dictatorial schemes — and the shape the village had prevented him from making any effective plans of attack; he had suffered with the loss of village and Sakura and Konoha had suffered without a mature and wise leader.

He slipped the scroll into his pouch, "Please tell me everything that you can, I'll destroy it after I've read it; I might not be able to get a message back to you all that quickly, though and I can't risk Sasuke becoming suspicious of anything,"

"I know, I plan on remaining in Demon Country for a little while longer, but I'll find a way to inform you if and when I move," She answered, a last slow smile spreading over her face before she leaned in to wrap her arms once more around his shoulders,

"I'm so happy to see you again… I sorry we don't have more time, but hopefully soon we can make thing better for everybody,"

"Hai, I know Sakura; stay safe. I'll think of a means for us to communicate regularly," He whispered to her, they shared one last look before Kakashi darted away, unsure if the weight in his chest that had become a constant companion over the past year was now any lighter.

"Kakashi! What took you so long?" Kurenai snapped as soon as he'd slipped back through the door,

"Nothing, I have the scroll, let's move," He ordered before he moved past them and hurried back down the passageway, they followed him, cautious for any guards, though Kakashi knew there was no danger to be found there now. In less than half the time it took them to scale it, they were back to the ground, outside of the shrine and preparing to climb back up to the observation post, it was still dark but the faintest light could just about be seen on the horizon; nights were short on this island, surrounded by so much water there was no cover to mask the light, but even so Kakashi knew he had taken far too long a time.

"What took so long? Did anyone spot you?" The ANBU demanded as soon as Kakashi slipped inside the shelter,

"Everything is under control and I might remind you that I am this mission's team leader," Kakashi barked as he stepped aside to allow the final two teammates in, "Report,"

"The guards acted as normal, their change over times were exactly as predicted," The ANBU responded flatly.

"Well then, looks like we can get out of here without any trouble; does everyone have all of their equipment?" He waited for nods of confirmation, "You destroy this observation post and make sure it appears as if no one has set foot here in several years," He pointed to the ANBU, "We'll head on to the top of the cliff face and wait for you in the foliage there," Kakashi darted on, scaling the cliff with ease, closely followed by Kurenai and Lee, the ANBU staring impassively up at them for a moment or two.

Kurenai offered Lee a hand as she pulled him over the edge of the cliff, she looked quickly around to Kakashi, intent on asking him what was wrong when something caught the growing light. She inched closer to him as her brain clicked as to what she was seeing,

"Kakashi," She whispered as her hand extended out to grab a hold of the long, thin strand of pink hair that had been stuck to the collar of Copy Nin's vest. "Wh-what..?" The man himself turned slightly to see what the fuss was about before his eyes locked onto the offending strand of tell-tale hair. He snatched it out of Kurenai's grasp as he heard the sounds of the final teammate climbing up the cliff,

"Keep this quiet," He ordered in his whisper the epitome of authority,

"What happened? I don't under—" Lee began but he was cut off by a sharp 'shh' from Kurenai and a downright evil glare from Kakashi; his mouth almost clicked closed.

The ROOT was upon them and Kakashi led them away, back to Konoha his mind already working to formulate any and all plans that would help to dislodge Sasuke from his stolen position of power.

* * *

..

.


	4. Chapter 3

_Whoo second chap today, not bad :P _

* * *

**A Nameless Fear **

_Chapter 3: Comms_

* * *

"Do you have the scroll, Kakashi-san?" Kotetsu asked stiffly as Kakashi handed it to him, the young Jounin scribbled down a few notes onto the pad at the desk in front of him before dropping it into a small 'in tray'; "Another mission down," He sighed to himself, "Kakashi-san you're due to go back out on a mission tomorrow morning, please be back here at 0700. Kurenai and Lee, you're both off until tomorrow night and Wednesday respectively; Sasuke-sama would like to see you, Osha-San," Kotetsu's voice was cool as the nin in front of him dispersed; Kakashi was swift to carry himself away back to his apartment, he'd felt it as Pakkun dispelled the summon on himself whilst they were still the better part of a day away from Konoha and he'd been unable to slow his pace.

The second his door was closed his hands flew through the seals and slammed his palm down onto the floor, Pakkun appeared in a small puff of smoke with a large scroll clamped between his jaws. He grabbed the scroll,

"Did she say anything else to you?"

"She's been planning a lot with the priestess and she has a new summon, a sort of bird, she told me where to meet it, whenever you want to send another message to her you can send me to go and tell it,"

"That'll have to do for now, thanks Pakkun," The little dog disappeared again; Kakashi planted his ass on the edge of his bed and flipped open the satisfyingly large scroll. Her familiar handwriting surprising him with the odd sort of comfort it gave him;

_Kakashi,_

_Hope you got back to Konoha safely. Shion-sama and I have been discussing how best to attack Sasuke - we both agree that we will need a lot of outside help, I have already been to Suna, Gaara is still the Kazekage and he listened carefully to me, I believe he is still on our side, the Konoha with Kakashi for its Hokage's side. Before he will implement anything, though, he needs convincing that any shinobi he sends to Konoha's aid will not be going solely to their deaths; unfortunately, I think the only real assurance can come from you, Suna has always been glad to recognise you as Hokage. I've asked him to keep eyes and ears out for any messages from you._

A sudden knock on his apartment door snapped him from the words,

"Kakashi-sama?" Kurenai's voice called to him from the other side of the door, "Do you have a minute?" He sighed, rerolled the scroll and hid it into the pouches still clipped around his waist,

"Hai, the door's open," She walked swiftly in, apparently not having gone home first, she shut the door behind her with a click,

"I've spoken again to Lee and he knows not to say anything at all, at least until you give him some direction one way or the other, no matter who is asking," She began, almost cryptically,

"Kurenai…"

"There's only one shinobi in the world I've ever met who has that colour hair and there's only one kuniochi in the world who I believe would you'd allow close enough for their hair to touch you," She walked over and took a seat on his desk chair, her eyes fixed on his, "Did you see her? Is she alive?" Kakashi swallowed awkwardly, the selfish side of him wanted to keep her a secret, for just a little while longer,

"Yes, she's alive and well, apparently Shizune saved her life and she fled, believing the entirely of Konoha was under attack,"

"Well, I guess she wasn't _entirely_ wrong,"

"Hgn,"

"What's going to happen now?"

"She wants to bring Sasuke down… and I agree, I've let him get away with butchering Konoha for far too long already,"

"There wasn't much you could do," She reassured gently, without a hint of patronisation, "You might not have been able to kill him even if you still had your sharingan; your presence here really reassures us, Kakashi, as long as you're alive we feel like all is not lost,"

"I know, but…"

"Sasuke buried himself in quicker than a tick, no thanks to ROOT," She spat, "And to get rid of a bug like him it will take planning and careful execution, lest we leave the head behind and it remains to poison what's left of Konoha," Kakashi sighed heavily as he listened to her (Kurenai's affinity for bug metaphors really took off having since now taught two of the Aburame clan),

"I know… but I should have been doing something,"

"We all thought we'd lost Sakura and you were closer to her than anyone else, even Naruto… we all understood, we lost a lot of people that day. But things have changed now, she's alive and kicking and with her temper that no small thing," She offered, managing to draw a faint, though unseen smile from Kakashi, "I really believe that now is the time to start making plans and getting everyone on board, even if we can't do anything for several months, the better we are all in step with each other and rehearsed, the smoother things will go,"

"Indeed,"

"I won't make any mention of what happened on this mission, Kakashi, but I really think now is the time to start moving and generate some real momentum,"

You're right, Kurenai… is there anyone you talk to often and can speak with regularly that will look completely natural? No offence, but we aren't exactly the closest of friends and I feel like it might draw attention,"

"I know it will, I see Shikamaru more days than not, I have a feeling he'll already have some plan or other tucked away in that brain of his,"

"Good… do what you can Kurenai, but stay calm - if you can't talk securely, then don't, there's no point risking anything at this stage,"

"Understood," She nodded and rose to her feet, walking over to the door,

"And… thanks, Kurenai," He offered, she merely looked back at him and offered an encouraging smile.

He was left alone in the quiet for a few minutes, he'd cloistered himself way so much over the past year, he'd almost forgotten how determined and resourceful his shinobi were.

He withdrew the scroll again and began reading,

_I can't tell how true some of the rumours are that I've heard, but some have been truly disturbing — one being that Naruto is not as strong as he was, that he rarely uses his kage bunshin and tires more easily that ever he did before. It's possible that this is just the boasting of a jumped-up enemy, but I can't deny the feeling that this makes a sort of sense. Sasuke's only real competition was Naruto and if he wanted Konoha for himself he'd have to find a means of getting Naruto out of the way, or at least stop him from being such a threat._

She wasn't wrong, that was exactly what Sasuke had done.

_I think for us to get anything done, we'll need Naruto at full fitness and fully connected to Kurama - I assume that's what the problem is, he must have somehow stopped Naruto accessing the kyuubi; I'll look into how this might be done and what options there are for reversing it. I know this is a long shot, but any additional information you can give me will help the process immensely. Don't worry too much if you can't, please don't draw any attention to yourself, doing what we shinobi do best, moving in the shadows is what we need at this._

Good old Sakura, spoken like her true mentor, Tsunade, he'd forgive her insolence for talking to him like he was some greenhorn fresh-out-the-academy Genin. This time. Aside from everything else, Sasuke had put a dent in his respect, what was with everyone giving him lip lately? He read the rest of what she'd written before getting himself a shower and something to eat. Before long he was laid in bed, his eyes scanning back over the scroll whilst his mind whirred with options. Naruto was the key to getting rid of Sasuke without a doubt, but ROOT also needed dealing with; if the other shinobi kept ROOT busy and away from Sasuke, Naruto could get close enough to deal a decent blow.

As soon as he was back off his mission, he'd find Naruto.

* * *

_..._


	5. Chapter 4

_..._

* * *

**A Nameless Fear**

_Chapter 4: Price_

* * *

Despite it being early, though sunny, the streets looked miserable; the normally chipper and pleasant civilians were sombre, the nodded politely to him as he passed by their stalls, but all the warmth and heart Kakashi cherished about his home village had been robbed. So many of the civilians had left soon after Sasuke's rein had begun, that selfish boy had no idea how to run a village; he drove taxes higher than they had been before, his blocks on the movement in and out of the village — although designed really to stop shinobi movements — had impacted enough of the civilian traders that they were forced to change business, go broke or move away from Konoha. They had been good men and women, good quality produce and a warm smile; they as much as the shinobi, had made the village. The only village that had any purpose, now, in Sasuke's eyes, was one which trained ROOT above all else.

"Ohayo, Kanna-san, how has business been lately?" He asked politely, stopping by the young woman who ran a small apothecary,

"Oh! Good morning, Kakashi-sama. Ah, not so well, unfortunately, I'm struggling to keep up payments on the taxes and the business just hasn't been the same recently,"

"Ah, that is worrying," He offered, "I'm sure business will pick up again soon, you're too needed in this village to give up and leave us," He spoke with a genial tone, hoping she'd grasp the implication in his words,

"Hai, Kakashi-sama, there are still many good shinobi in Konoha," She smiled honestly, though it held none of the satisfaction he'd seen in the faces of shop owners in years previously. He walked on, dragging himself over the threshold of the old Uchiha compound, he could almost feel the air get heavier, the precarious stalls dotted around appeared as depressed as the owners who tended them; he spied at least two obviously pregnant women, doubtlessly Sasuke's.

"Hatake-san, the Hokage wishes to speak with you," Was the first comment barked at him before he'd even gotten within ten feet of the front desk, behind which Kotetsu was still sat; the shinobi who had apparently been waiting for him spoke politely though his clipped tone said it all. Kakashi nodded and marched straight through the set of double doors into the spacious, if barren office of Sasuke's.

He said nothing, he just walked into the centre of the room and waited for the twisted former student of his, sat behind his oversized desk, to speak,

"I heard the report from Oshi, what took you so long in obtaining the scroll?" Sasuke demanded, Kakashi had no hesitation in offering his answer,

"It is correct conduct to ask the Captain for the mission report, _Hokage-sama_,"

"I trust the ROOT to offer me a more objective view,"

"Then why even bother sending the rest of us on missions, if you trust us so little?" Kakashi made a point of keeping his voice flat and unashamed,

"Missions bring in money and knowledge, ROOT can't do it all,"

"Yet you seem to insist on sending me and others out with an ANBU watcher, couldn't they have just gone if they are the only ones you trust enough… not to mention that fact that in your single year, you've lost more civilian citizens and privately owned businesses than all of the previous kages combined, exactly what sort of 'money' do you think you need to earn?" Kakashi's voice hadn't changed, though Sasuke's eyes suddenly shot to his, his sharingan flashing dangerously,

"I will not tolerate being spoken to like that,"

"I remind you I still have a mission to complete, _Hokage-sama_," For a moment, just a moment, Sasuke's mangekyou flashed into his eyes but faded to his normal black just as quickly, though he kept staring at Kakashi, murder in his eyes.

"The mission you were due to go on is rescinded. You are to take mission 141-D. You are to be back in one week, or I will assume you a missing nin and send out ROOT to collect you alive or dead. Two man mission, Tito will accompany you." It was on the tip of his tongue to ask how Sasuke could afford the man power to hunt down Kakashi for being a little late, but he _absolutely_ needed him to complete this mission? He though better of it and held his tongue, he could gloat over Sasuke later.

Kakashi merely bowed his head, as subtly as he thought he could get away with before tuning on his heel and marching out of the office, purposefully leaving the door open behind him. He marched up to Kotetsu who sheepishly held out a scroll,

"I've just been informed of a change of missions, I'm to have 141-D?"

"Oh…uh…" Kotetsu flustered for a minute, fishing around in the pile, "H-here, Kakashi-san… are you sure?" He asked uneasily,

"Hai," Kakashi sighed as he broke the seal and unraveled the scroll, scanning his eyes over the scant mission brief:

_Obtain kuniochi Maki from southern Wind Country, see map, and bring to Konoha; she is to be kept alive with no permanent damage done._

_Time: 1 week_

_Rank: S_

_Minimal Casualties and disturbance. _

Kakashi's breath caught in his throat, was he serious? _Kidnap_ a kuniochi from an allied… former allied nation? She was an excellent shinobi, one whom Kakashi had worked with extensively in the fourth war. Kami, if Sasuke's intention had been to punish Kakashi this was one hell of a way to do it: for him to abduct a comrade from an ally - and for it to be done by Kakashi's own hand would certainly be the nail in the coffin of Konoha ever rebuilding what Sasuke had destroyed.

The only hope that remained, was that with Kakashi near Suna he may have a means of communicating with Gaara and hopefully obtain his help. The primary issue now being—

"Hatake-san?" A dispassionate voice drew his attention, "I am Tito, I am to accompany you on this mission," He was young, perhaps no more than about twenty, he was dressed in the typical ROOT attire, sans the cloak,

"We'll meet at the main gate, ready to depart in one hour. We'll be out of the village for a week, but we need to travel as light as possible."

"Hai, Taichou," The boy nodded back before walking away.

Kakashi had never moved so fast in his life, he was back at his apartment, kitted with all the equipment he'd need and was stood outside the gates within fifteen minutes. Despite his orders, however, his young teammate stepped up behind him as soon as Pakkun had slipped away, into the nearby underbrush. He was treading a precariously thin line, where one misstep could be the undoing of everything, but to do nothing would surely be the epitome of evil.

* * *

_Time for Kakashi to give as much sass as he gets, ne? You might be thinking I'm splashing too much in cliches here... sorry about that ._


	6. Chapter 5

_Okay!_

* * *

**A Nameless Fear **

_Chapter 5: Decisions_

* * *

Nearly a full forty-eight hours had passed since they'd left Konoha and less than ten words had passed between them; they were close to the Wind Country border and Kakashi's attention the entire time had been overwhelmingly absorbed by how soon Pakkun could make it to Suna and how willing Gaara would be to take the dog seriously. He'd taken a large risk in ordering Pakkun to tell Gaara — though only Gaara — the intention of Kakashi's mission and for him to find some way of either delaying their finding Maki or to later intercept them on the return journey. As swiftly as Pakkun's legs could carry him, the dog had probably made it to Suna, perhaps even had been there for a couple of hours, though he would still need time to find Gaara, explain the situation and for the Kazekage to, hopefully, be on board to help Kakashi… and Maki.

"I'll take first watch; get some rest," Kakashi ordered as soon as they'd slowed their pace and dropped to the ground, Tito, calm as ever, merely nodded and stooped to sort out his admin, drinking a little water and taking a few bites of high-energy food; he was quick to lie down and sleep. They weren't far from the Suna border, though had dropped down, almost to the coast, far further south was normal for a journey to Suna. Maki had been reported in a small, mostly civilian village to the south west, the great mission detail had gone on to include she was supposed to be on leave, visiting family. Lovely.

Of course, what other perfect time was there to be kidnapped?

Kakashi had been hoping to slow his pace enough so that Pakkun might catch up and give him an indication of what might happen next; not in the least because Maki knew him, she'd recognise him immediately and the trauma of kidnap — aside from not wishing it on anyone (possibly with the exception of Sasuke) — let alone perpetrated by someone known to her, would make it that much worse. Still, he could think of no believable reason to slack on their pace that the ROOT wouldn't immediately see through and for the first time in a very long time, Kakashi couldn't risk being trapped in Konoha. His stag seemed to pass all too quickly and his limited period of sleep even more swiftly; they were back on the road, over the great, vast desert of Wind: the sun was high and hot, though a chill caught to Kakashi's bones that was not becoming of the namesake of the country.

"That's the town," Kakashi pointed out as they skidded to a halt just shy of the crest of an out-crop of rock, avoiding sky lining themselves, "We'll wait until it gets dark before we make a move, there isn't enough cover and we're doing this as quietly as possible."

"Hai, Taichou," The ROOT answered quietly as Kakashi fished out a small pair of binoculars and observed what he could see of the town, cautious to prevent the sun glinting off the glass. The town was a fair size with at least three or four main streets and good number of side ones; it was set back against another rock face and only one building stood out with any prominence. A handful of people wandered around in traditional desert clothing, their movements measured and relaxed. Kakashi pulled back and slid down the sloping edge of the rock, well out of sight of anyone; he was sweating heavily and reached for a gulp of water, they had another couple of hours before it would be dark enough to move and still Kakashi had not thought of a good enough plan that wouldn't become painfully obvious he was going against orders sooner or later.

Just as he returned to his position of observation, he spied a bird high in the sky, he focused quickly on it as it descended like a lightning bolt; just as it flew down to one of the perches on the windowsill of the largest building, he spied a small chain around its neck. Surely it was one of the Kazekage's messenger birds?

...

Gaara stared down impassively at the small ninken as hastily drank the last of the water in the small dish set out for him; the Kazekage had done his best to retain his objectivity as he'd listened to the words the dog had offered. Maki was one of his best and his sent a chill through him to think of what exactly Sasuke wanted from her. Gaara was grateful for Kakashi's warning and the risk he had taken in doing so; Sakura's own visit and explanation offered him some hope, all those months ago, that Sasuke's grip was not as solid as he liked to pretend, still he had rather hoped for some contact from Kakashi a lot sooner. He was saddled with keeping the elders — and the daimyo — happy and launching an assault on Konoha, with the intent to help them get rid of Sasuke and reinstate Kakashi had been met with adamant rejection from almost all but his own siblings and the other shinobi who'd worked heavily with the Leaf nin during the fourth war.

Still, the rather galling situation did present them with a vital opportunity which Kakashi had not missed and neither would Gaara. His decision made, he shot to his feet and ordered Kankuro and Temari to be brought to him as soon as possible before quickly returning to his desk and wrote out a note to Maki,

"Pakkun, I realise I am not your master, but if you would, return to Kakashi-san, as subtly as you can and alert him to the fact I am helping him; he should proceed with his mission in abducting Maki as convincingly as possible. I trust he will not injure her. Since he is not alone, I know he cannot delay nor draw attention to himself that might cast suspicion from his teammate. I will instruct Maki to delay them, as they return: please advise Kakashi to pass as slowly as he can afford through River country."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama, thank you," The little dog spoke graciously as he was able before turning to dash away, unwilling to waste any more time, despite how much he would have liked to take a nap on the cool, smooth floor of the room before he left. But duty called.

...

Kakashi picked the lock and stole into the house through the window as quietly as he could, he'd gone in alone, since Maki was the only shinobi in the house whilst Tito stood watch outside; he crept over to where she was sleeping, though her eyes opened immediately,

"Kakashi-san?"

"I'm sorry Maki-san, but I—"

"I know, Gaara-sama warned me," Her voice was cool, though held a hint of angered resignation,

"I'm sorry… I won't hurt you, but we've got to keep up the act, I have a teammate who sides with Sasuke," He explained quickly as she rose out of bed, partially dressed, Kakashi allowed her to pull her sandals on and pull a long, loose tunic over her undershirt, "I'll place a simple sleep genjutsu on you for now, but it will only last for an hour or two, after that feel free to cause as much trouble as you like, the slower we are in returning to Konoha the better,"

"Hai," She merely offered, even the quietness of her whisper betrayed her feelings,

"I'll do what I can to keep you as far from Sasuke as possible," He offered before his hands flipped through the seals and he cast the jutsu on her, carefully catching her as she crumpled before hoisting her over his shoulder; he sighed to himself at what had been asked of him before climbing back out the window to face his tense looking teammate. They had barely taken a few steps before the town seemed to come alive beneath them as a shriek echoed from the Maki's vacant room; the two nin picked up their pace even as lights were switched on and other shouts joined in.

They were back down to ground level by the time the first kunai whizzed past Kakashi's nose, he almost wanted to smile at the commotion, delays in any shape or form, though especially this one, was helpful. They paused at the edge of the next building,

"Tito, you stay here and distract them, give me enough time at least get over to that outcrop, from there we'll have a better chance at a defensive position, if needs be," Kakashi ordered, Tito hesitated for a few minutes before nodding, he gathered his chakra and went on the offensive, the former Hokage took his moment and charged across the expanse, the darkness was a good cover and he was confident the Suna nin wouldn't risk injuring their comrade in trying to take him down. It felt as if it took forever to reach the outcrop, though it couldn't have been much further than five hundred meters; he skidded to a halt and placed Maki down as gently as he could, before he'd even let her go, however, he was suddenly aware of another presence and a familiar voice,

"Kakashi!" Pakkun's voice hurried, as the little dog leapt out of his hiding place, "I spoke to Gaara, he's willing to help you, he says to take as long as possible through River Country, I think he means to send reinforcements to meet you there,"

"Excellent, thanks Pakkun, dismissed for now," Kakashi breathed even as he summoned his chakra and withdrew a long coil of wire with kunai and kibakufuda attached, with a little luck, Kakashi would be able to report the mission a failure.

* * *

...


	7. Chapter 6

...

* * *

**A Nameless Fear**

_Chapter 6: Plans Within Plans_

* * *

The fight hadn't lasted much beyond half an hour, Tito was an accomplished shinobi, though the ample cover afforded by ROOT's administration had shielded Kakashi from hearing much about him in the past; his jutsus were fairly quiet and modest, but immensely powerful and had obviously not drained him. After a short fight with them both on the defence, they'd over powered the few nin who'd been present in the village at the time and were swiftly back on the road. Kakashi had to admit this was the first time he actually counted the loss of his sharingan as a blessing, with it faking errors would have been that much harder; the border to River seemed to come upon them with unsettling quickness though his prisoner did not awake for some time. Kakashi was almost considered waking her up himself, somehow, as sun began to peek through the dense trees, eventually, though Maki awoke as they were several hours within the borders of the forest of River.

She kicked and wriggled until Kakashi was forced to halt and put her down,

"Stop," He ordered, gripping Maki's shoulders firmly, but not too tightly, he feigned greater fatigue than was genuine from the earlier fight and running with her dead weight

"Get off me, let me go!" She shouted, whilst gathering her chakra, Maki was skilled with seals and unbeknownst to Kakashi at the time, she had several sheets on her; she snapped the wire around her wrists and in a moment had grabbed one of her sheets and flung it behind her, towards the ROOT. It flew with unnatural swiftness and direction, latching itself to the ANBU's hip; a seal immediately appeared on the paper and it began to suck out his chakra, like some form of twisted leech. The ANBU grunted at the sudden drain and stumbled slightly before he could move to rip the tag off, Maki had stuck one to Kakashi and leapt to her feet, darting off into the trees. Kakashi was quicker to rip the tag off, though it stuck to his shirt with an intensity that surprised him, it took almost all his strength to finally yank it off the fabric and sucked at his chakra even whilst his fingers were clasped around it. An impressive jutsu to say the least. He threw it to the ground and leapt to his feet, hastily following after Maki along side the ANBU,

"How's your chakra?" Kakashi asked,

"I can still manage, though the tag was a surprise,"

"Hm, she is a very skilled shinobi, we underestimated her," Kakashi spoke, almost off handedly whilst his eyes searched for clues as to where Maki went, there were a few obvious foot falls, but they soon stopped all together; Tito began to shuffle his hands in his pouch enough to draw Kakashi's attention,

"What's that?"

"A chakra inhibitor,"

"Why didn't you tell be about it before?"

"I would have expected the Hokage to inform you of it, since he briefed you before we departed," Tito calmly explained as he twisted the end of the small vial, making it ready to inject; Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly, although Tito had no idea that Sasuke had only called on Kakashi to attempt to reprimand him and changed his mission objective at the last moment, something about the ROOT's explanation didn't sit quite right. As if the suppressant had been handed over without the express and sole intention of using it on the kuniochi.

They took to the trees and caught up to Maki quickly, though in the short time that had elapsed, Kakashi could tell she was no longer alone; he and Tito halted on the next tree branch to find Temari, Kankuro and two other Wind nin in a defensive formation around Maki.

"You were very swift to respond to our actions," Tito stated calmly,

"We don't waste time when enemy nin are trying to abduct one of our own," Temari spat back, though her eyes fixed carefully on Kakashi, without missing a beat, her fan swung into action and both Leafs were force to leap out of the way of what was doubtlessly a razor sharp gust of wind. Their being siblings and teammates meant their formation was impeccable and just as Tito landed on another branch, Karasu, Kankuro's favourite puppet appeared behind him. Kakashi himself dived head on into the remaining trio, immediately locking blades with Temari,

"I'm glad you're here so soon," His whispered quickly,

"_I'm_ glad you were able to give us some warning," She offered back, they separated again before exchanging a few more blows, "I'll try not to beat you too badly, Kakashi-san," She offered cheekily,

"Hmm, well I suppose it is your prerogative to try," He rebutted wryly, before turning to block the incoming attack from the third nin; Kakashi jumped back and quickly formed a kage bunshin to cope with the added enemy. He and Temari fought intensely, exchanging a number of jutsu but it was starting to feel too obvious that they were pulling their punches, especially since Tito had moved back into the same space, though his focus was still taken up by the puppets, of which there were now two.

"Kim, get Maki back to Suna as fast as possible; we can deal with these two," Temari ordered as she send another gust of wind, this one, though was very broad and before Kakashi could just far enough away from the unexpected composition of the attack, he was swarmed with more of the chakra tags. He ripped them off of himself as fast as he could, though the sheer volume drained him quickly. He hid himself behind the trunk of a tree as he evaded another one fluttering down past him; thinking quickly, he pulled his fingerless glove down far enough to grab a hold of the tag. Despite the fabric barrier between them, he could still feel it's insidious pull on his chakra, he hastily stuffed it into his pouch; Kakashi glanced around for Tito and carefully darted over to him, really beginning to feel the strain, his chakra hadn't been this low for a long time.

"We can't defeat the three of them, and the puppets with all of these chakra tags; mine is already low, I doubt I'd have enough for a big enough jutsu to hit them all at once. We will have to pull back,"

"Hai, Taichou," Tito breathed heavily, it being obvious he too was low on chakra; "I was nicked by one of the puppets' blades and I suspect it was doused in poison," The sudden sound of Temari's voice as she swung her fan again had the two Konoha nin leaping away from the tree before running as fast as they could back towards the nation of Fire. They could almost feel the three Suna nin on their heels as they ran, exchanging fire in the form of rigged kunai and the occasional katon Kakashi sent back, with the direction of the wind, towards his chasers, enough to force them off their tail for a moment or two.

Just in time, they fled across the fire border and the three were forced to halt their pursuit;

"You're lucky you were so close to the border, Konoha dogs, if you make any attempt to cross into Wind territory again, we will see too it that you will die before you can set one foot out of the desert," Temari spat again before turning to leave; Kakashi sighed a deep breath, things had gone surprisingly well, in his opinion, though all that remained was convince Sasuke how stupid his mission outline had been.

…

Tito wobbled slightly as he stood next to Kakashi in front of the Hokage, the poison in his system had been a fairly mild one, it sucked at his chakra and inhibited his body's own regenerative abilities, but since he was still technically able to stand, Sasuke had expected him to offer a full and immediate debrief.

"So you failed, basically." Sasuke issued,

"Hokage-sama, I was able to attach a tracking bug to Maki, allowing me to locate her presence easily in the future," Eh? Tito was an Aburame? That was news to Kakashi,

"What about him? Did he throw the mission on purpose?" Sasuke, apparently, still failed to gasp tact,

"No, Hokage-sama, Kakashi-san fought as well as he is able but just two of us, with a captive, were no match for the four Suna nin," Tito's voice was cool and formal, though it took all of Kakashi's discipline not to physically react to the ROOT's lie. There had been four Suna nin to contend with, but their fight had been by no means as savage as it would have been, assuming Kakashi's intentions been different: even a Chuunin could have spotted that difference. Not to mention how easily Kakashi had given up the chase almost as soon as Maki was out of sight, though the former Sixth Hokage had to wonder.

Was this just an attempt to lull Kakashi into a false sense of security so Sasuke could corner him later, or was this actually an indication that even a ROOT member could see the errors in the Uchiha's leadership style?

"Get out and find a medic to cure you as fast as possible; there had to be at least one still in Konoha skilled with poisons," Sasuke ordered as he turned his attention away from them; Kakashi resisted the urge to snort: there was only one medic skilled enough and she would sooner see Konoha raised to the ground than help Sasuke or any of his lackeys.

* * *

...


	8. Chapter 7

_Oooh! I've just got a look at the Naruto gaiden (700+1 (as its listed)) and I've gotta say, Sasuke seems like even more of a dick because of what I'm assuming about Sarada's, ah, heritage shall we say, to be quite different than it's implied. Though I must admit, I feel like Saku has been lying about her relationship with Sasuke because it would make (Sarada) feel better about her "dad" (he's not a dad if he's not present for anything about her life, muthafucker) if the relationship was no more than Sasuke making a demand on Sakura and using her compassionate nature against her to look-after the child he didn't want/couldn't support… besides if Sasuke just up and left for twelve years (what mission takes that long in the peacetime post war?) but somehow he could be bothered to just get randomly married to Sakura, get her pregnant and leave immediately just doesn't quite add up to me. Also, where are you for support, Kakashi? :p (Sorry if this sounds really confusing but I don't want to give it all away if you haven't had a chance to read it yet… it's on mangastream!) _

* * *

**A Nameless Fear**

_Chapter 7: Movement_

* * *

"How long do you think it will take for them to notice the scroll's a fake?" Sakura asked as she adjusted the pack on her back,

"Depends on how long it takes them to analyse each acquisition, which, considering how ferociously they've been conducting these missions, it might take a little while, still, it's better for you to be away from here incase they decide to retaliate. You still have it?"

"Hai, Shion-sama, it's carefully hidden. Thank you for letting me stay here; I really hope I'll be able to send you word of a good outcome soon,"

"Don't rush, Sakura-san, there are many pieces which need to fall into place before your plan can become a success; move with great caution and follow the map as I have instructed you. If all else fails at this time, it is better for you to survive to carry on the fight later than for everything good to be lost and for evil men to prosper," Shion's words were cold, but honest and without aggression; Sakura bowed low to her,

"I understand, Shion-sama thank you for everything you've done for me and for Konoha." She slipped quietly from the temple and set off north as fast as she was able, silently praying Kakashi would be able to respond to her earlier communications before she made it to Kaminari territory. Lightning Country had never been comfortable allies with Konoha and if she dared to infiltrate without already knowing exactly what answers she was looking for and where to go, things could get away from her and she'd have no chance at all of saving Konoha.

Still, she couldn't help a slight twinge of disappointment that she had no support and that Kakashi was still so far away from her.

…

Kakashi had awoken very late the next day ravenously hungry; his chakra was slowly on the mend though he felt as if he hadn't eaten in months. Aware that he needed to speak with Naruto as quickly as possible, assuming he hadn't already left the village, Kakashi dressed himself and hurried to Ichiraku: one of the restaurants that had survived, Naruto's infamous hunger and borderline obsession with ramen had made sure of that. Kakashi was soon at the stand and had already devoured two bowls of ramen before Naruto showed up,

"Kakashi! You're back! I was gonna ask you how well your last mission went but you were sent out again before I got the chance haha, so how'd they both go?"

"Pretty well, I mean the last mission was a failure, but it happens sometimes,"

"What?" Naruto almost yelled, "When have you ever failed a mission? That's gotta really screw up your averages, right?" He laughed genially,

"Well, it has been known to happen… though there is something I want to talk to you about, but here isn't the right place, it's about Kurama," Kakashi's voice had dipped so low it was almost inaudible but Naruto had (thankfully) learned how to catch on to Kakashi's more subtle hints over the past year.

"Oh! Ah…"

"Just think about it, come and see me later at my place if you have to, I might not be married, but I think I can still help you out," He spoke with a genial, almost idiotic grin as his voice returned to it's more usual timbre;

"Uh, oh… well…" Naruto stumbled over his words, clearly confused by what Kakashi meant, though smart enough not to blow it,

"Good, come over for about seven." Kakashi stated as he laid down a few bills for his ramen, Teuchi smiled at him and he wandered away; the sun was bright but the air was still chilly, a handful of people were out and about and among these were Lee and a young woman, slowly ambling up the street.

"Ah! Kakashi-sama," Lee cheerfully greeted him,

"Good afternoon, Lee and ah..?"

"Oh, I'm Kiyomi, pleased to meet you, Hatake-san," She bowed politely,

"Have you just returned from your latest mission?" Lee asked,

"I did yesterday, though I'm just taking a stroll, are you guys on a date?" He asked cheekily, amused by Lee's immediate blush, though Kiyomi, it seemed, was not easily riled,

"Well, no, we were just going to do some training,"

"Ah, are you shinobi, Kiyomi-san?"

"Well, no, actually, but I'm really into fitness," She smiled; Kakashi mirrored her as he couldn't help but think what a good match they made, without Gai, Lee had definitely mourned having someone to challenge him to greater physical accomplishments.

"Well then, enjoy yourselves,"

"Thank you for your encouragement, Kakashi-sama!" Lee grinned and they continued on their way; Kakashi himself meandered back to his apartment as his mind returned to the chakra tag he has seized from Temari, would it only remain a threat to anyone so long as Maki was still alive? Would the range of the tag have any impact? It looked identical to the only Maki had used — and ones he'd seen her use in the past — yet it was Temari who'd fired them; were they something Maki could make and allow to be used by anyone? More importantly, would it be something Kakashi could use strategically on Sasuke?

Naruto had turned up a fair bit earlier than Kakashi had hoped for, but it was more important that he was present at all;

"So, so?" The Uzumaki clucked as soon as the door was closed,

"_So,_" Kakashi cut off, "You're here to tell me everything you remember about when ROOT severed your connection to Kurama, tell me everything, anything could be vitally important,"

"But why now?"

"Please Naruto?" Kakashi wasn't quite ready to tell him about Sakura yet, as much as Naruto had grown up in recent years, he was still a bit of a loose cannon and telling him news that his beloved teammate had actually survived might be a bit too much for him to keep under wraps.

"Uh…well I was just back off that really long mission you'd sent me on and they stopped me before I'd even gotten through the gates, I wasn't really sure why, but before I knew it they were leading me, I think, towards the interrogation wing and stabbed me with some needle or something," Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as he struggled to recall, "I don't really remember going _into _the building but I remember waking up on some weird table with a few ROOT members stood over me, my seal had shown up on my stomach and they were pouring their chakra into me, I tried to ask Kurama for his chakra, but he was so far away, it was like I couldn't find the place where he normally sleeps,"

It sounded a little bit confusing to Kakashi, but he guessed Naruto was talking about the partition Minato had made within his son when sealing the Kyuubi's chakra.

"It really hurt, and when I was inside that place I could see their chakra blocking up the bars of Kurama's cell, like they were boarding it up or something,"

"Can you feel any of his chakra at all?"

"Kinda, when I separated his chakra from his bad feelings, with my mother's chakra chains, it was like that chakra was separate into a different place where Kurama couldn't take it back. During the war though, when Kurama and the other eight all merged within me it cancelled that, though Kurama never attempted to take my chakra whenever I used his, so it wasn't a big deal. But without any more of my mother's specialised chakra, I don't know how to break down the charka barrier,"

"Hmm… what happens if you try to draw or access Kurama's chakra? Does nothing happen or does it hurt?"

"Uh, well, nothing happens, if I try too hard, I just end up drawing on my own chakra,"

"Naruto, I want you to spend as much time as you can practicing on trying to either disrupt the barrier placed within you, or trying to communicate with Kurama in any way, in the way you were able during the war,"

"I will,"

"Keep as quiet as you can about this, I'll need you up to full strength as swiftly as you can manage,"

"A-are we really going to—"

"Yes, but this must be as quiet as possible, if anyone suspects we are so much as _talking _about it, then we'll have all our options stollen from us,"

"I know… I won't give up until I've gotten through to Kurama," Good old, determined Naruto was back, his expression adamant,

"Excellent, if you learn anything new let me know as soon as you can, we'll start meeting a few days a week for ramen, so it won't look suspicious,"

"Alright!" If you wanted Naruto to cooperate, involve ramen.

"We'll start of by meeting for dinner tomorrow night, unless you have a mission?"

"Nah, don't think so,"

"Good - if you can, get Shikamaru to join us,"

"Shikamaru?"

"I need to ask him a few questions,"

"O-okay, no problem! See ya then, Kakashi!" He offered a hearty grin and was gone. Kakashi sighed as he sat down at his desk and withdrew a sheet of paper,

_Yujin,_

_I was going to send you another batch of the shop owner's buns, but it seems as if his recipe has changed; they really tasted weak, not like his usual style at all. I know how much you like them, I really didn't want to send you an inferior batch, I really thought it would ruin your day. He reckons that someone has tampered with his mixture by adding random ingredients and so the whole batch is ruined, he's doing his best to try and fix it, since it's a month's worth, but he's struggling to sift through it all and remove the contaminants. I'm really sorry this parcel is a lot less than you were hoping for._

_He's working hard to be back to business soon._

_Your Old Friend._

* * *

_Also, is it just me, or did it sound like Sarada doesn't really want to become a shinobi? . LOL can just imagine Sasuke's eye twitch when she can use her sharingan but doesn't bother for anything important/shinobi related despite have super powerful eyes she just uses them for trivial things… like fucking over Sasuke (hopefully)._

_Sort of spoilers but: Is Sasuke left twelve years ago, surely that would be when he left right after the fourth war, right? So when did this wedding/sex happen? NEVER That's when! (Sorry, but SasuSaku really makes me sick to my stomach)_


	9. Chapter 8

_Ch 700+2 :O _

* * *

**A Nameless Fear **

_Chapter 8: Truth_

* * *

Sakura snorted so loudly as she read Kakashi's message, she frightened a bird into flight out of the bush she was hiding in; the only buns she wanted were Kakashi's. She clapped a hand over her mouth as that thought occurred to her, forcing back the hearty laugh she wished to give in to: it had felt _so_ long since she'd heard any communication from Kakashi or being able to spend any un-pressured time in his presence that it was clearly getting to her. Still, Kakashi's message wasn't _that _clear - 'random ingredient'… maybe he meant chakra? But there were very few shinobi — almost none still alive who were capable of containing the chakra of the Kyuubi — except perhaps, Sasuke.

Right now, though, Sakura needed to get across the open expanse of water and make it to the island, Shion had shown her how to direct her chakra so that she wouldn't immediately draw the attentions — or the aggressions — of the animals which inhabited it, though it was by no means fool proof… at least she still had her chakra punch to knock out anything which might be a little smarter than it's animalistic visage implied.

She'd heard a lot about the island from Naruto's babbling several years ago, though his words had been irritatingly nonsensical and darted about without any sense for their proper chronological order, that it had her inherent sense of orderliness nearly snap in frustration. Still he'd mentioned a lot about the animals and the temple in which he'd trained, which had been 'behind a waterfall'. Although she'd had no reason to ask him for a more detailed description of the locations, she almost sighed in frustration for just how long it could take her to find out anything useful. Still, she had made good time in getting to the island and climbing onto it without too much trouble; she treaded carefully whilst keeping the sutra open and charged with chakra; so far it had done its job by inducing a soporific state in any animals which approached her, though, like all good plans, it didn't last too long.

A huge panda, with a dark patch over one eye, had drawn her attention but observed for a short while, seemingly almost immune for a few long moments whilst they sized each other up. Its mind made up, it barrelled towards her she charged her fist with chakra and stepped back into her stance.

Still, its huge bulk dashed towards her and at the last possible moment, she threw her fist forwards and it collided with the side of the panda's head, halting its attack; it skidded away from her on its side, wheezed a last breath out and fell into unconsciousness. Sakura herself breathed a sigh of relief at the fact her punch had both worked and not killed the animal; she hurried on, refocusing her eyes onto the surrounding area whilst she leapt into the trees to try and take the swiftest route which would give her the greatest view. A few more hours and a suspiciously easy journey passed until she heard the sound of a cataract. She dropped down from above it, seeing where it disappeared over the edge and dropped as a straight, unbroken curtain down to a small pool.

In its centre was a small island, it was nothing more than a disk of dirt rising just above the water, it struck Sakura as a little convenient so she jumped down to land on the edge of the water in a crouch. She remained still, focusing on her surroundings to wait if there was any sort of a reaction. The fall of the water was quickly disturbed, as though something was emerging from the far side of the fall; Sakura almost swore in surprise as an almost perfect replica of herself stepped through the water. The only thing that differed between her and her moniker were the dark rings around her eyes,

"You've failed as a shinobi, Sakura, you've wasted all this time hiding in some temple like a monk whilst your friends have been abused and still fight for their lives whilst you're hiding like a coward,"

"Who are you?" Sakura asked the imposter,

"I am you, the real you, I'm that part of yourself you like to pretend doesn't exist - I am the truth in your heart,"

"Bullshit,"

"I know how deeply you loved Sasuke - after all of the things he's done in the past and the present, he's an absolute monster - and you as someone who loved him, what does that make you? Apologising for his mistakes, wanting him to come home and marry you… you really wanted that? To marry a murderer? A man who, on many occasions, has tried to _kill_ you?" The moniker shouted, though Sakura merely closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Shion had warned Sakura never to let her negative emotions get the better of her, for on this island in particular, it would get the better of her. This was probably what Shion had meant.

"If you're here to tell me what's in my heart, you're a little late, aren't you? My love for Sasuke died a long time ago and I haven't been hiding in Demon country, I have been preparing,"

"You've been 'preparing' for a long time, why have you only just come here?" The moniker rebutted, one eyebrow raising in defiance,

"Because I needed to make contact with Konoha and reaffirm what I knew or didn't before I could start making any effective plans,"

"You mean, you just wanted to see your _boyfriend_ again? He's an old man, do you really think you can give him everything he needs?" The Other goaded her again, though Sakura only let out a breath of laughter as her mind found it's way back to her most recent memory of Kakashi — his eyes and words had been so emphatic Sakura could not have mistaken his feelings, even if he hadn't spoken them aloud. Sakura had wrestled with her conflicted feelings over the past year with Shion and right now, all of the worries that this imposter was trying to bring back to forefront suddenly sounded like such old news. She walked over, across the water and right in front of the moniker,

"Konoha is in turmoil and I am finally in the right position to start correcting things, to give into my self-doubt, to _you_, now would spell disaster, I can't afford to waste my energy on worrying about things I can do nothing about now. If you really are a part of me, then you know that I was once like that, choosing to fear rather than act, but I am not that girl anymore; things have changed and so have I. I will always need you to keep me in check, but for you to try and convince me I'm worthless will kill us both, isn't it better to free yourself of all that anger and self doubt? If you really are a part of me, then you must trust me," Sakura spoke gently, as if able to let go of her own doubts even as the words formed in her mouth - Naruto must really have rubbed off on her, since she'd known him.

She stepped forwards again and dropped her hands onto Other-Sakura's upper arms, "There's no need to hold onto that kind of doubt," As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the other offered a slow, crooked smile and faded from her view, as if she were nothing more than a cloud of petals blown by the wind. Sakura was left with nothing by the sound of the falls and coolness of the water's spray;

"I'm impressed, I didn't think a trespasser could get through the falls of truth," A deep, gruff voice called from behind her, she span around and readied her stance and her chakra. She was met, though with the same giant bear who'd charged her earlier,

"Uh… hello?" She asked, unsure if she should assume it was the bear who spoke or some nearby, unseen person,

"Yes, that was me, I am Kintoki and I've never had some one knock me out with just a punch before… especially not a little girl like you," The bear spoke again, his face was dark but his words lacked aggression, the kuniochi rolled her eyes at his stupid comment but pressed on with her mission,

"I'm looking for the Temple of the Jinchurriki, can you help me?"

"First you're gonna explain what you're doing on this forbidden island,"

"I am here looking for information to help my friend, the nine-tails Jinchuuriki,"

"The nine-tails?"

"Do you know him? Naruto?" Sakura pressed, though the bear only squinted his eyes in failing recollection, "Blond hair, kind of an idiot,"

"Oh yes!" Kintoki suddenly offered, "I remember Naruto, he was here a long time ago, good friends with Killa B,"

"That'a right,"

"How is that young 'un doing? Still trying to stare at people's genitalia?"

"What? Uh, no, but he's having issues with his tailed beast and I am here to look for information to help him,"

"Hmm… why should I just believe you?" This bear was clearly not a stupid as he looked,

"I am not powerless, Kintoki-san, but I am not here to start fights, I am trying to end one; Naruto is my friend and he has been… injured, I only want to find a way to help him so that Konoha can being rebuilding,"

"Konoha, eh? I've met a lot of good shinobi from there,"

"Yes, but it is not at it's former glory,"

"What's happened?"

"A missing nin returned and took over the village, he was formerly allied with the Akatsuki,"

"Akatsuki? I know those bastards!" Kintoki growled deeply, "I thought they were all dead,"

"Unfortunately not,"

"Well then, I guess you'd better get yourself behind that waterfall and find out your secrets," The bear's words were cut off as an enormous ape smashed his way through the trees to appear in the clearly,

"What is happening here? Who is this trespasser and why haven't you killed her, Kintoki?"

"Calm down, King, she's no enemy," The two enormous creatures turned more to face each other as their arguing intensified, Sakura took the opportunity to dart beneath the curtain and water and into the temple. It took a moment for her to clear the water from her eyes and look around, the hollow in the rock was an enormous space, filled with broken statues and what looked to be a doorway. She stepped carefully and kept her eyes open for any and all information, the doorway led her to a small room, its walls covered in writing with a huge stone cat's head directly opposite the door. She scanned the walls, as best she could in the dim light, reassured to quickly find the word 'jinchuuriki'.

Though slightly less pleased to find that the words carved into the walls were not standard Kaminari language, but rather of some older dialect.

* * *

_A/n — I read a fanfic (by Saughtnite I think) about Saku being good with languages and I think it kinda fits her character, at least, I like that concept as a trait in her._


	10. Chapter 9

...

* * *

**A Nameless Fear **

_Chapter 9: Fortune_

* * *

Kakashi timed his moment carefully, stepping out into the training field just as Kurenai called a halt to their work out, she, Shikamaru and Mirai all stepped back from each other and breathed a sigh of relief. The young Chuunin wiped the sweat from her forehead and reached into her pouch for a drink of water.

"Ohayo, doing some morning training?" Kakashi asked, from behind his book as he approached,

"Ohayo Kakashi-sama," Mirai was quick to bow her head slightly as Shikamaru offered a nod of his own head in a polite 'hello',

"Are you about to start training yourself?" The Nara asked as he walked up to Kakashi,

"Ah, I though I probably should, I've been slacking off a little this week, though I certainly wouldn't mind a little bit of help, unless you guys are too busy?"

"Whoa! Really?" Mirai almost shouted, though she was quickly shushed by her mother,

"Mou, Mirai-chan you don't think I'm too old to train with you, do you?"

"N-No, of course not, Kakashi-sama,"

"Excellent! In that case," Kakashi moved a small slip of paper from the back of his book to his current open page, sharing a swift and meaningful glance with Shikamaru as he did so,

"Since when do you need a bookmark, Kakashi?" Kurenai laughed, though her voice was kept to a low pitch,

"Well, I guess I am getting on a bit, I might as well save myself the trouble of remembering my page numbers," He genially responded as Kurenai merely rolled her eyes,

"What sort of training did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was hoping to work on my agility, with the help of your clan jutsus, Shikamaru,"

"Of course,"

"Kurenai, if you wouldn't mind hitting me with a few of your genjutsus?"

"No problem,"

"Mirai-chan, I think it would be better if you just observed for now,"

"Hai, Kakashi-sama," The youngest nin nodded and jumped away, Kakashi himself made a point of turning his back to the other two as he slid his book into his pouch as he walked a few steps away, turning back to them.

"Okay, both of you against me, but feel free to fight amongst yourselves if your start treading on each other's toes," He offered with a cheeky grin before he gathered his chakra, threw three shuriken towards Kurenai and Shikamaru before he darted away into the nearby treeline. Shikamaru wasn't slow to react, as Kakashi was forced to keep dodging the fast, almost sentient vines of shadow which chased at his heels.

He was careful to draw the fight out as best he could, before allowing one of the vines close enough, which trapped his heels flat to a branch whilst another snaked up, snuck into his pouch and stole the hand-made envelope. Kakashi could see out of the corner of his eye as the scrap of white was pulled from his pouch and almost instantaneously swallowed by the mass of shadow, hopefully kept safe and hidden until Shikamaru could retrieve it. At the same moment, the hold on his legs weakened and Kakashi managed to break free; now that the real purpose had been safely passed on, it was time to have some fun. He created a kage bunshin just as he darted behind a tree and sent it off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Naruto didn't even bother to knock before he barged into Sasuke's office,

"You're supposed to knock first, Naruto," The Hokage spat at him,

"You're supposed to knock for entering the office of someone you respect," Sasuke's eyes flashed red and cast Naruto in a genjutsu, this had been their typical parry for a long time, so much so that Naruto didn't bother to get stressed as he felt himself engulfed by an enormous fraudulent goukkakyuu. Naruto merely sighed and asked why Sasuke would think it sensible to attempt to injure his shinobi before sending them out on missions; the illusion quickly faded.

"I thought you respected the title of the Hokage, Naruto,"

"I've respected the previous Kages, you've done nothing but destroy that good name," Naruto's words were calm, but the truth in them was unmistakable,

"Konoha right now, is tactically stronger than it ever has been before; the fact we had to upset a few stupid civilians to do it is the least of my concerns. Your opinion is irrelevant, Naruto, go outside and get mission 47-T, you are to take Kakashi; you have two weeks to be back here. Dismissed."

Naruto scowled as he stomped out of the office and up to Kotetsu, the elder shinobi offered a sombre smile as he handed him the mission scroll,

_Outline: Obtain as many samples of the plant commonly known as 'Black Tooth'._

_Rank: D_

_Location: Snow Country_

_Team Strength: 2_

"What the hell?" Naruto shouted as he read the scroll outline, _he_ was being sent on some crappy D rank mission? Kakashi, too? He knew pointless busy work when he saw it, but the audacity of Sasuke to send him, the saviour of the whole world, _dammit,_ on some stupid waste of time was enough to make him want to rush in and punch the Uchiha on the nose. Naruto growled in feral frustration before running off to try and find his teammate.

"Kakashi!" He finally found him at the training grounds, "Oi, Kakashi!" He skidded to a halt beside his former sensei, his face flushed with the irritation which he'd had no opportunity to quell in well over the past hour was finally getting to him.

"Hey, Naruto, where's the fire?"

"In Sasuke's office, if he's not careful, we have a _mission_," Naruto made sure to emphasis the word with as much childish fervour as he could muster before thrusting the scroll at Kakashi; he flipped it open and scanned the contents quickly,

"J-just you and I on this mission, Naruto, are you sure?"

"Yea,"

"To Snow country?"

"Yes!" He snapped back, taking in the cautiously excited grins on Kurenai, Shikamaru and Kakashi, "What? You think it's funny we're getting sent on a D rank?"

"No, Naruto, but think about it, this will be the first time that you or Kakashi have been sent out of the village without a ROOT babysitter," Shikamaru calmly offered, "Whatever you did to piss him off enough to give you a mission like this, keep doing it!"

"O-oh!" Realisation finally dawned on the blond,

"Naruto, we'll leave in two hours, meet me at the main gates at six-thirty, have your stuff ready - we don't need to travel too lightly,"

"Okay,"

"And still act like you're pissed off at getting lumbered with a pointless D-rank mission, okay? If we're too happy about it, Sasuke will be suspicious and maybe have us followed," Kakashi ordered again as Naruto nodded, fixed his face into an expression of absolute frustration and stalked away. "Well, sorry to have to cut the training session short, but thanks for your help," He offered with a small smile before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Shikamaru had made certain to meander on his way home, keeping his pace to his typical disinterested manner, but the note he'd received from Kakashi had been burning a hole in his pocket so badly he thought his trousers were about to catch fire. Not to mention, he was beyond excited at the prospect things might finally be starting to happen, that Kakashi had finally healed enough to begin rallying the village to stop Sasuke. He talked often with Kurenai and she had told him that Sakura was, in fact, alive; it had genuinely surprised Shikamaru at just how hopeful the news had made him, whist he'd never been terribly friendly with Sakura, she was a good kuniochi and more than determined enough to make her an invaluable addition — especially with her hidden under the radar.

It was another key piece in figuring out the game of shogi against the Uchiha.

Eventually he'd made it home and made sure to lock his door and cover his windows as if preparing for a mid-afternoon nap, which he still did as often as could be afforded, and withdrew the note. It was little more than a carefully folded piece of paper, stuck with a small measure of sticky-tape. As he flipped up the first corner, Kakashi's writing drew his attention,

_Shikamaru,_

_Destroy this note as soon as you have memorised the information fully. During my mission to Suna, to kidnap Maki, I encountered these chakra tags, they very quickly and effectively deplete chakra, even through clothing. Maki was skilled in making these, they appear to have the ability to be thrown or aimed at a specific target, it only drains chakra when in direct, physical contact. What interested me the most was that Temari, who'd arrived later as support for Maki, also threw a large number of these at my mission partner and I; they stick very strongly to whatever they come into contact with. I managed to save one, but I'd really like better understand it, does it store chakra? Does it respond to specific chakra? Can anyone use or make the tag or is it definitely one of Maki's?_

_Please find out everything you can from the intel devision and understand as fully as you can everything about this tag. Pass a message through Kurenai for us to meet when you're ready to tell me what you know._

_Kakashi._

He opened up the last of the make-shift envelope and looked at the decidedly plain looking square of paper, as with many things, it was clearly more than what it appeared. Shikamaru touched his finger to the corner of the paper and immediately felt the strong tug on his chakra. He pulled back and felt suddenly aware of his own breathing; if this tag had been taken from Kakashi's mission, not more than four days ago, then it was of high quality to still be so vigorous.

A good tag such as this would definitely give them an edge in fighting Sasuke, even the strongest shinobi was powerless without chakra.

—


End file.
